


The Man Who Can't Be Moved

by Thunder_the_Wolf



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-26
Updated: 2018-05-26
Packaged: 2019-05-14 03:47:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14762015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thunder_the_Wolf/pseuds/Thunder_the_Wolf





	The Man Who Can't Be Moved

_**The Man Who Can’t Be Moved** _

“Fifteen years of working for us and you want to put him down?!” Warren Lockheard was not known for his blind loyalty. In fact, the only reason he didn’t tell them where they could shove their orders was because these were his superiors and there was a time and place for everything. This was neither time nor place to act how he felt.

“Mr. Lockheard, your assistant has heard too much and to trust him with such information when we barely know his credentials is a risk we’re simply not going to take.” His superior, an older gentleman in a posh suit who went by Paul Ratter, snorted. “We can leave no loose ends, Mr. Lockheard, and Mr. Matthews is a huge liability at the moment. You have the rest of the month to get rid of him or I’ll have it done for you. You are dismissed.”

The middle-aged man known as Warren Lockheard all but stomped out of the commander’s office like a petulant child who couldn’t keep his favorite toy. Granted things were more complicated than that, if the looks of pity given to him by passing co-workers was any indication. They’d never been in his position before. They’d never had to watch a friend die. There were no official rules as to what was considered fraternization but there was an unspoken truth that people should not, did not, for this very reason, get attached or make friends within their work. There was always the possibility of extermination.

“Orders, Boss?” Twenty-five year old Jay Matthews was without a doubt, the best assistant the department could ask for and everyone would be sad (to some degree) to see the man go. He was one of, if not the most, competent individuals to ever exist; a godsend to different departments when he had the time to spare. Lockheard was not an overly cruel man, simply demanding, as such was his job. Matthews had no problem taking on the workload he’s been groomed for (years before his official work began) and was the main reason their organization remained afloat. While there were other competent assistants, none rivaled the skill and work ethic of Jay Matthews.

“Stand down, Matthews. There’s nothing around here that needs doing at the moment.”

Lockheard flopped into the large, overly-comfortable chair that sat behind his sturdy, oak desk.

“If you had two weeks left to live, what would you do with your time?”

“Do I?” Matthews asked.

“That’s what Ratter said. Apparently you found some highly sensitive information that he didn’t want anyone to know about. Do you know what it was, Jay?”

“I can’t recall anything out of the ordinary, Sir.” Matthews replied.

“Do you know what you would do?”

“I can’t think of anything, sir.”

“Wouldn’t go back to an amusement park, kiss a girl, do something you’ve never done before?”

“Nothing to do, sir. I’m fine with what I’ve done.”

“You might change your mind later on, kid.”

“If you say so, sir.” Jay sounded more amused than anything. Poor boy had no idea what he was really missing.

“I had a wife before.” The boy admitted. Warren sat up straight and blinked in surprise.

“What?” He spluttered.

“She wasn’t my wife for long but the sentiment was there. I met her when I was seventeen. She was a year younger than me. It wasn’t love at first sight or anything cliché like that, but she was beautiful. Her name was Cora, and her father sold her to me for 15 bucks; said she was useless and I could have her if I wanted. I’m glad it was me and not some dirtbag. She deserved the world even when I couldn’t give it to her. I told her that a lot.” Jay admitted. And didn’t that just shock him to the core? Lockheard had no idea what his assistant did with his spare time, and didn’t care so long as it wasn’t life-threatening or had anything to do with the organization.

“She died a year after she had our kid. Some bastard decided my house would hold something of value. Of course it did, but nothing any looter would want. We weren’t completely poor but we were the furthest from rich. We had what we needed, no more, and I wouldn’t dare think of less. I was late from work that day because it was the Richer assignment. I came home and found her bleeding out on the kitchen floor. Kaitlin, she was our little girl, was all tucked up against her, dead too. I buried them both the next day and her mother sold the house for me.”

“That’s why you sleep here every night, isn’t it?”

“At least when I wake up I’m not alone. There’s nothing here that reminds me of them.” Jay informed his boss. “I’ve been waiting for this a long time, Mr. Lockheard. I never went out of my way to make trouble, but I knew they’d question me sooner or later. I knew they’d demand my silence. It gave me something to look forward to.”

“Did you ever find out what happened to the thief?” Lockheard wondered.

“Shot to the head, shot to the heart.” Matthews sounded far too smug and Warren realized right then exactly what that could mean.

“Apparently the bastard stole from the wrong person, a gang leader or someone important like that. The police told me when they found him. I laughed, Mr. Lockheard. I laughed like there was no tomorrow and the next day, my house was sold. Cora’s mother insisted that I have the money, for taking care of her daughter when she couldn’t.” Jay snorted. “Boss?”

“Yeah, kid?”

“You got any suggestions?”

“Quite a few, actually. I’m sure that if we asked the others they would have some too. I’m going to take the week off and we’ve got some exploring to do. See, kid, you’ve got to live before you can die.”

* * *

 

Matthews knew the second Lockheard thumped into the office, and he was up and ready.

“Stand down, Matthews. There’s nothing around here that needs doing at the moment.”

Of course not. If there were then his footsteps would be a quick, light staccato. The one that usually meant business.

_Whatever you say, Boss._

“If you had two weeks left to live, what would you do with your time?”

“Do I?” Matthews asked.

“That’s what Ratter said. Apparently you found some highly sensitive information that he didn’t want anyone to know about. Do you know what it was, Jay?”

“I can’t recall anything out of the ordinary, Sir.” Matthews replied.

_Of course I know what it was. It's a secret, though. Made me swear on my life that I wouldn't tell... guess the old bastard's getting paranoid in his age. Good. He shouldn't have started this._

“Do you know what you would do?”

“I can’t think of anything, sir.”

“Wouldn’t go back to an amusement park, kiss a girl, do something you’ve never done before?”

_Done that, been there. No need to walk back down Memory Lane when my future rests with the stars._

“Nothing to do, sir. I’m fine with what I’ve done.”

“You might change your mind later on, kid.”

_Doubt it. I'm ready for whatever that bastard thinks he can do to me._

“If you say so, sir.” This time he said so aloud, amusement leaking into his voice.

_I can't wait to see Cora again... Gotta tell someone. Might as well be the Boss._

So he told Lockheard about Kaitlin and Cora. To say that the man was shocked was an understatement. He lied about the killer, though. They were no petty thief, and he was far more than ready for this to be over. The attack had been a surprise. One he knew was coming, but a surprise nonetheless. He'd hardly thought his superiors would be so cruel as to kill a woman with a child, let alone the child herself. That was his mistake, his burden to bear, and all because Ratter was too busy covering up his little corrupt schemes...

The man would pay. If not by his actual hands then he would rot in jail. No one ever likes crimes against children.

So the man would pay.

“You got any suggestions?” Might as well play along while he could.

“Quite a few, actually. I’m sure that if we asked the others they would have some too. I’m going to take the week off and we’ve got some exploring to do. See, kid, you’ve got to live before you can die.”

And boy, would he. His last act as a free man would be to take down his wife's killer, to put away the man who murdered his child. The man would rot; whether in the ground or in a cell was up to him.


End file.
